Kinda Kind at True Value Hardware
Can you Find the Hidden Kindnesses?
“Sometimes kindness isn’t in your face. It’s more subtle. It’s Kinda Kind.”
The Kinda Kind Series is about talking. And not talking. About gestures. And expressions. And sounds. And silence. It’s about all the curious ways we communicate. And sometimes it’s about just being Kinda Kind.
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"The test of good manners is to be able to put up pleasantly with bad ones." ~ Wendell Willkie
Last week Bill (my amazing husband) and I went to True Value Hardware. We were on an important mission. Marking Flags. Like the kind that surveyors use on properties to mark boundary lines and potential hazards. Not hazards like dog poo or snake holes, which seem to me like real hazards. More like utility boxes and gas lines. We all have our priorities…
Marking Flags come in lots of colors. I wanted orange🟧. I was getting ready to transplant some daylilies and I wanted to mark where I’d dig the holes for their new homes. Besides, it’s almost Halloween…..so, orange. 🎃
A trip to True Value is an adventure. I know, for many of you an adventure is a trip to Greece or hiking into the Grand Canyon. We can make an adventure out of anything. Don’t judge😁.
At True Value you can buy bird seed, baseball bats, bunt pans, burlap, birthday cards, bath mats, batteries, beekeeping suits, buck shot (just a sec while I take a breath😱)… bridles, BBQ’s, baskets, briquettes…and those are just some of the things that start with ‘B’. I won’t recite them all…, you’re welcome.🤣
Oh right, back to our Marking flags. (We’re easily distracted). They were tucked away in the hardware section, each color in a long clear plastic tube. 25 cents each.
After Bill grabbed a fistful of orange flags we meandered up to the check out line in the front of the store. When I say meander, I mean we spent another ten minutes ‘aisle strolling’. True Value Hardware can be a hazard to your wallet. Maybe I need a marker flag for my purse.🟧
At the checkout there was a guy in a blue plaid shirt and an old cowboy hat in front of us. He wanted to buy propane from the large white tank out in front of the store. Pay inside. Fill up outside.
Another guy pressed in right behind us. I heard him coming and could feel him trying to beat us to the line. We weren’t in a hurry, but we were there first. I turned to smile at him (because most folks in Prescott are just ‘aw shucks’ nice)… and was met with a glare.
While we waited for our turn he looked back at the people behind him, then back up at Bill and me, then the propane cowboy. He looked like a guy weighing his options, all of them bad. He sighed audible sighs, pursed his lips and shook his head. You’ve had that guy behind you in line, right?
“Next”
Emma (thank you nametags) the cashier had that ‘I’m closing in on 75’ look about her. She sported a husky smoker voice. She glanced at the pile of bright orange flags on the counter and then up at Bill and said, “Howdy. I gotta look these up. I don’t know the price code. Gotta have the price code.”
Emma reached under the counter and pulled out a well worn 3-ring notebook that had colored tabs… lots of tabs. She put the notebook on the counter and started flipping through, looking for the code for the marking flags.
She paused to pick up the store intercom and called out in her smoker voice, “Joe, there’s a guy up here that wants to buy propane.”
Behind us Mr. Sigher’s sighs got louder and I could hear him mumbling “you gotta be kidding me”.
Emma kept flipping.
Bill smiled at Emma and said, “You know, the guy behind me here seems like he’s in a hurry. Maybe you could open another lane?”
“Now that’s a good idea,” Emma said.
She stopped flipping and picked up the intercom again. “Checker needed up front.”
Mr. Sigher was becoming Mr. Rude, arms flailing, unprintable words becoming louder. Bill turned around to him and smiled. Mr. Apoplectic rolled his eyes. Not even a hint of ‘Thanks for suggesting another checker.”
“You know, Emma,” Bill said giving the cashier a sweet smile, “I used to be able to get Horehounds here, but I don’t see them. Are they around anywhere?”
Bill knew his ‘ask’ would slow things down, but Mr. ‘I'm standing Behind You and I'm pissed’ had gone too far…and Emma was doing her best.
“Aw, sorry, we’re out of those horehounds right now. You know, I like ‘em too. They’re great for a scratchy throat.”
“That’s ok. No problem. Just thought I’d ask.” Bill smiled at me. I stifled a laugh.
Emma picked up the intercom again. “Joe that guy who wants to buy propane is still standing up here.”
Bill looked behind him. The line had grown to 4 more people. Emma found the price code for the flags and she read it out loud as she keyed it into the register. “0415629.”
"Now how many flags did you get," she asked.
"Oh, I don't know, I just grabbed a handful," my husband said. So Emma started to count out each flag. “One…two…three….”
You could almost feel the flames of fury from behind us.
No new cashier yet.
Emma finished ringing up the flags. “You got a True Value Rewards card?”
“I do, but not with me.”
“Well then, you just put in your phone number there on the key pad.”
Another 30 seconds ticked by and we were done.
Emma looked right at Bill, winked, and said, “Now you have a real nice day, sir."
“You too, Emma.”
Bill turned and gave a slight nod to Mr. ‘I’m about to lose my sh…’. as I grabbed our handful of orange marking flags and we walked out past the cowboy waiting for propane.
“Next”
Behind us we heard Emma say, “Thanks for waiting sir. How can I help you today?”
🐇 Lessons from the Rabbit Hole
As we walked to our car I thought about how unflappable Emma had been. She had been totally focused on helping us, never allowing her positive attitude to be worn down by Mr. Rude. I felt certain that her greeting to him had deflated his bad attitude like a flat tire on the back of an old pickup.
Our adventure to True Value Hardware may seem like just a simple errand. But if you take a moment to think about it, some kindness, a little humor, and maybe a bit of schadenfreude made it a trip worth taking. And we got marking flags too!
Thank you Emma. A little kindness can go a long way.
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💬 COMMENTS
Have you ever had a Mr. Rude in your check out line?
Did you find the hidden kindnesses? What are they?
Wanna say hi?
Was the ‘horehound schadenfreude’ funny? Justified? Mean?
What kind thing happened to you this week?
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"...maybe a bit of schadenfreude made it a trip worth taking." I am sure of it - a very human trait, like giving someone who is misbehaving an unexpected pinch. This really made me laugh. By the way, a bit of kindness yesterday. I got to the checkout counter at Trader Joes, and asked the clerk to check the price on the tiny apple pies. He said $4.99. I said, okay, then, I better put them back. Without a blink, he said, you can have them for free. And with a really big smile, he plunked them into my bag. I was stunned. Now THAT was kind. I thought of you, Heather.
Thinking of old, unflappable Emma, she's learned long ago that you can only wait on one person at a time and doesn't stress out. There is a waitress, June, who has been working in a coffee shop down the road from me for about 45 years. Old school. I love her to death. She knows a thing or two about how to do her job well.